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Saturday, 7 June 2014

Hour Two

Over the course of That Wrestling Podcast Michael and I began
frequently using the term hour two. It references the fact that the second hour
of RAW almost always playing host to good but ultimately inconsequential
matches. These matches usually feature the likes of Kofi Kingston and Dolph
Ziggler. Guys who can wrestle a top notch match but who, for whatever reason,
WWE seem unwilling to push beyond this filler role.

Good enemies, better friends?

This is something that could actually be used to WWE's
advantage. Kingston and Ziggler could be paired up as a team or, better yet,
put in a trio (those are so in right
now) alongside a similarly overlooked mid-card vet such as Tyson Kidd or Justin
Gabriel. It would be creating a new dynamic for the matches of all three and
opening up storyline options for RAW's second hour (and SmackDown, Main Event,
and pay-per-views too, obvs). That RAW’s second hour is bereft of plots is
particularly depressing and something I think most would like to see changed.

There are various ways the three could be brought
together. They could simply announce they're forming a team. That's suitably bland
enough to suit WWE but it would be particularly unimpactful (if that wasn’t a
word it is now). They could interfere in each other's matches for a few weeks
before officially forming a group. My personal choice would be for the three of
them to be booked in a three-way match for a US or Intercontinental title shot
and announce the formation of their group instead of wrestling one another,
challenging any three wrestlers to come out and steal the show with them in a
six man tag instead. Because a desire to steal the show would need to be the
driving force of a faction of this type, naturally.

If the three members got into the idea of being a faction
it could become a highlight of RAW. Wearing some colour-coordinated gear and
working on some double and triple team sequences would help to set them apart
visually. They could bring back the strangely out of fashion practice of being
at ringside for each other's single and tag team matches. Kidd and Kofi could
be paired up as a regular duo and 'The Show Off' could be booked to pursue IC
and-or US gold, with all three coming together for six mans every few weeks and
facing their various opponents (or three randoms).

If left alone to establish themselves as a trio over a
period of months then encounters with the Wyatt Family could be big events (had
The Shield not split they’d have been natural opponents too). Imagine if this
proposed new group closed an episode of RAW by attacking and getting the better
of the Wyatt Family after months of earning a reputation of being a formidable
three man team. In fact, you don't need to. Just glance at the face-off between
the Wyatts and 'The Hounds of Justice' from November 2013 to see how well
crowds will respond to such a stand-off if both teams have been built up to
matter.

This proposed group (or one thematically similar to it) would
give some structure to WWE's permanently overlooked middle card and give three
guys the chance to get over without too much time commitment from the
apparently overworked creative team. If they were allowed to develop character
and a group dynamic WWE could have another Shield or Wyatt Family on their
hands. The name of this proposed group? To do it full justice only one name's
appropriate: Hour Two.